LOVING THE BIRDS EYE VIEW: MOUNTAIN CLIMBING

Ok before you all get carried away, no I did not climb a mountain. I am afraid of heights and I don’t like cold so that’s a combination of two elements you will not find me in. Maybe one without the other but no way both at the same time.

Either way a friend of mine did climb a mountain recently, it wasn’t her first climb either. For some reason when she did the first major one which is Mount Kenya we didn’t make a big deal out of it. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because it’s become a thing people do nowadays. But then she climbed Kilimanjaro, I wonder if it’s the pictures she shared but suddenly we are all in awe.

It also be that Mt Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and maybe also that she was literally in the clouds at some point.

I don’t know if it’s her hardest climb but I know it wasn’t easy and I know how hard she worked to get there. I was classmates with this girl and now she talks about hiking boots and climbing gear and thinking of Everest as an ideal destination.

It’s almost like a person I just met recently. It’s amazing how experiences can change us.

 The Bible talks a lot about highs and lows and we never really want to work to get to the highs we just want to get there. It is a tough journey and needs a lot of preparation. And when we finally get there it is worth and all the pain and the toughness disappears as we embrace that moment.

I am still on my journey, not on a literal mountain [sometimes I wonder if I am on the right mountain] but I hope to someday find that joy that even when I do come down from the mountain I come back as a new person.

So I will end today with my first interview from my friend in her own words. Enjoy J

INTERVIEW

1 What can you tell us about yourself? [Who you are, what you do, etc.]

I’m a God lover, people lover (especially vulnerable ones), nature,
fitness and adventure enthusiast, animal (dog) person, books, Africa…,
Naturalista.
I work for the government in a humanitarian way. Hehehe…or Engineer
turned farmer, Agricultural problem solver

2 How did you start climbing mountains/hiking?

By chance as all things…Was invited by a good friend to Mt. Longonot,
it hurt like hell the first time…love at first sight

3 What made you love climbing/hiking?

The ‘being close to God’ feeling, the aloneness with your thoughts in
hiking, the pushing your body to certain unimaginable limits and
realizing you know nothing about it all

4 What have you learnt about yourself since you started this journey?

That though I think I can do it all by myself, I need people I trust
around me, to pull me up and help me down every once in a while.
That I can push my body to certain limits…sometimes it moves sometimes
it pushes back

5 What are the new habits you have adopted since you started?

Keeping a certain level of fitness, eating the right stuff. Frame of mind
Life is too short, need to make it count, sometimes all I think about
is how I can get better at this, and it makes life’s daily hustles to
kind of melt away

6 How have you grown as a person [character/ spiritual /physical etc.]

I don’t judge people as quickly anymore, God’s amazingness and
greatness, that He carries me and takes me through some dangerous
situations and hears me when I call, I can walk for way longer now

7 Would you recommend this experience to others? If so why?

Yes, it’s great for general wellbeing and it would be great to have
more people doing it, however it needs dedication, and the
satisfaction comes in enjoying and respecting the mountain, some may
get disappointed if their goals are different (I want to lose weight
only) and the level of pushing your physical limits can be too much to
some people

8 Who have you encountered since you started that you find inspiring?

Encountered physically, many people, men and women who live for the
mountain and their enthusiasm is up there. Resilient people who keep
walking no matter what
Nonphysical encounters, women mountaineers like Kit Des Lauriers and
Hilaree O’Neill who do this for a living and also have families really
inspire me…if I grow I want to do what they do
The Jimmy Chins and others who are really good at what they do
(Inspire me to put out my best every time I do something)

9 Who else do you hike/climb with and how has it changed your relationship?

I hike with a close friend of mine Clare. Pain brings people together but
hiking allows us to know each other through various situations. We are
definitely closer coz we spend so much time together doing it and know
that we have each other’s backs.


10 If there was one thing you could do if money was not an issue what
would it be?

Train to be a really good mountaineer, ensure that I do a couple of
impressive peaks, open a climbing/ mountaineering school and be on
mountains a lot…

11 What inspirational thing would you share to other African believers?

God has put so much potential within us all we need to do is tap into
it. We need to break out of our comfort zones as scary as it may seem
and find Him in every place or situation He has placed us. In other
words, wake up every morning in awe of His Majesty

12 Favorite moment while at the bottom of a mountain?

Before I start…Can’t wait to see how far my body can go…
After I finish…Wow, I did that…

13 Favorite moment while on top of the mountain?

How small the world seems from here…I don’t believe I made it this
far…I’m alive!

14 Any regrets?

That I didn’t start this earlier

15 Favorite scripture?

For now, John 16:33  I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world